When the Facts Change

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Hosted by journalist Bernard Hickey, When the Facts Change is your essential weekly guide to the intersection of economics, business and politics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Presented by The Spinoff together with Kiwibank. Visit kiwibank.co.nz to find out how Kiwibank are making Kiwi better off

1 DAY AGO

Behind Porirua’s poverty

For decades, Pat Hanley has been a tireless advocate for the rights of beneficiaries, drawing attention to the persistent challenges they face. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, he sits down with Bernard Hickey to unpack the deep-rooted causes of poverty in Porirua. Hanley argues that both the underlying issues and society’s approach to addressing poverty demand a comprehensive overhaul, calling for transformative change to create a fairer, more supportive social landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

33 min
7 NOV

The cost of prison

Our prisons are bursting at the seams. They cost at least $2 billion per year to run – and that’s before we consider the longer-term and wider-reaching costs to our health, education, housing, justice and welfare systems. University of Auckland indigenous studies professor Tracey McIntosh joins Bernard to interrogate the reasons why we, as a society, persist with ever-larger and ever-more-damaging institutions that are failing to reduce crime rates or recidivism (and, in fact, may actually be increasing them). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

34 min
31 OCT

How to give employees what they want, when they want it

Fintechs are changing the way we spend and save, but they are also set to change the way we could be paid for work, or more correctly, how workers are paid benefits on the fringes. Bernard Hickey talks to Steven Zinsli, the founder of Extraordinary (formerly HealthNow) about his new payments card system to help employers deliver extra benefits to employees through electronic cards, rather than having to claim expenses or just get plain old cash paid straight into a bank account. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

38 min
24 OCT

An economic spring in our step

The animal spirits of the economy are stirring back to life after a whopper of an interest rate cut - with expectations of one more to come. Bernard Hickey talks with Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr about how businesses are feeling heading into the Christmas sales season, and what might upset the metaphorical applecart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 min
17 OCT

The hidden battery in your home

What if your hot water cylinder could help solve New Zealand’s energy crisis? And how is an hour of free electricity helping with our notoriously problematic electricity market? Electric Kiwi co-founder and CEO Huia Burt sits down with Bernard Hickey to explore how they are helping New Zealanders tackle the cost-of-living crisis, all while reducing our national reliance on non-renewable energy sources. Tune in for a fascinating discussion about electricity, innovation, and the potential for real change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 min
10 OCT

Is Nicola Willis cutting costs or cutting growth?

Finance minister Nicola Willis is on a mission to crunch the size of government debt from well over 33% of GDP to under 30% within a few years, as well as fire up growth in an economy experiencing its worst-ever recession per capita. Doing one would be hard, but both at the same time seems a mission impossible for a politician wanting to win a second term. Bernard asks her how the government will both keep its promises and engineer even bigger spending cuts in per capita terms than those delivered by Ruth Richardson in the early 1990s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 min
3 OCT

We’re all getting older and something has got to give

As our national population grows older (and the superannuation system becomes increasingly burdened by the growing ranks of retirees), how will the government balance the books? The ratio of tax-paying adults to superannuitants is steadily falling, and raising the age of eligibility for super won't cover the forecasted shortfall. So what kind of fiscal policy changes are needed before public debt starts getting scary? Dominick Stephens, chief economic adviser at the Treasury, joins Bernard Hickey to discuss the long-term unsustainability of our current situation, the impacts of migration and outsized labour force participation by over-65s, and what’s at risk if we don’t make changes soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

32 min
26 SEPT

Gazing into the infrastructure crystal ball

Aotearoa’s biggest problems are largely caused by a lack of infrastructure - housing, transport, water, hospital and education - in the areas that need it most. So how could (or should) we plan the systems that keep our country running? And who is responsible for divining the future to make decisions that can have an impact for decades to come? Bernard Hickey is joined by Peter Nunns, acting general manager of Te Waihanga NZ Infrastructure Commission, to discuss the murky business of planning infrastructure projects for an uncertain future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

32 min

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Bernard Hickey

Host

Hosted by journalist Bernard Hickey, When the Facts Change is your essential weekly guide to the intersection of economics, business and politics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Presented by The Spinoff together with Kiwibank. Visit kiwibank.co.nz to find out how Kiwibank are making Kiwi better off